Pad filling apparatus



Oct. 20, 1931.

T. L. MCJOYNT PAD FILLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 4, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l A ATTORNEY Oct-20, 1931. T. L. McJoYN'r PAD FILLING APPAATUS- Filed Feb. 4, 1930 s sheets-sheet 2' v NVENTOR Cry 722'L n, I ATTORNEY T. L. McJoYNT v 1,828,673

.s sheets-sheet s PAD FILLING APPARATUS FiledvFeb. 4, 1930 Oct. 2o, 1931.

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INVENTOR /yT/ oy'zf .ATTORNEY Patented Oct. -1931 THOMAS L. HGJOYNT, lO F JANES'VILLE, WISCONSIN' Pan FILLING APPARATUS Application 'fled February 4, 1930. Serial No. 425,874.

This invention appertains to pad filling apparatus generally, and has for its more important objects to provide a type of the same wherein, first a proper amount of lilling material is deposited into a pad envelope or bag in a continuous operation without any of the usual rolling or lumping up f of the material and in a manner that cracks or crevices therein are eliminated" second that the quantity or'weight of the illmg material is determined principally by the capacity of the mold at any given moment in its operation, an adjustment of a part of the mold being provided for in order toI vary its 'capacity correspondingly for pad envelopes or bags of different dimensions; third, the provision of tandem orA two mold units permits of a substantially continuous -filling operation over indefinite periods of time which* makes for increased and more economical production and fourth, the continuous operation as aforesaid is performed in a manner that no beating, compressing or. other Ysupplemental operation is required in order for each pad envelope or bag to be completely and uniformly filled by each individual lilling operation. lVith the foregoing and other equally important objects and advantages in view, the invention resides in the certain new and useful combination, construction and arrangevment of parts as will be hereinafter more.

fully described, set forth in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure -1 is a topplan view of a practical embodiment of a single mold unit with a portion of the perforated top wall or cover of the mold broken away to show a pad envelope or bag positioned therein' Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fi re 1 Fig`ure3 is an end elevation of the filling mold and its movable support;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2; t

Figure 5 is a view similar to that of Figure 4 but showing the top part or cover of the mold in open position; i

Figure 6 is a fragmentary vertical section through the forward end wall of a mold and showing the clamp means for securing a pad envelope or bag in position over the inserted end of a filling material feed spout or nozzle;

Figure 7 is a vertical transverse section, taken on the line 7 7 of Figure 6; i

assembly of a two mold unit system; and

Figure 9 is a side elevation of the latter. Referring to the drawings, whereinlike .characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views thereof, and more particularly to Figures 1 'to 7, inclusive, the embodiment of the invention as shown therein by Way of example only, is constituted in a substantially rectan ular or oblong mold body 10 which is `norma ly open at its top and bottom sides. A cover is lpro- Figure 8 is a plan view of the complete vided for the ltop side and consists of a frame t 11 of a shapeto fit within the mold body 10, with its top edges Hush with those of the latter. The opening through the frame 11, is closed by a wall l2, which is secured tothe lower edges of the side and end members therwf` Thisclosure wall 12 is preferably made oi' foraminated sheet metal and of a gauge to lend a proper rigidity thereto for purposes to be` hereinafter more fully eX-' plained.

The cover thus provided, is hinged as at 13, at one of its longer sides to an adjacent side of the mold body 10, while a latch device 14 is provided at its o posite sideto lock it in closed position. Tlie lower side of the mold body 10 is closed by a movable bottom` 'asr wall 15' which is arranged to be adjusted relatively to the' upper wall 12, whenl the cover is disposed in its closed position and in order to vary the depth of the space between the same. c The mold proper, as thus constructed and arranged, is'to he suitably supported in lon-l gitudinally centered relation above and from a relatively narrow elongated base 16 carried on the upper ends of pairs of standards 17 rising from wheeled supports 18.

The movable bottom wall 15 is to be ad,-

justed verticallv of the lower open end of' y the mold body 10 by means of pairs of arms 19,'which are pivoted attheir lower ends, as

at 20', to the opposite sides of the elongated base 16. These arms 19 have rollers 21, journ 25 mounted in spaced relation along the lon ly offset portion 28 adjacent mold which,

gitudinal center of the elongated base 10 and has its rearwardly directed end projected through a bearing plate 26 rising from the rear end of the base. The rear end of the shaft or rod 24 is screw threaded, as at 24",

for engagement with the complementally screw threaded hub bore of a hand wheel 27 when turned, bears against the outer side of the bearing plate 26 and causes the sl. Lft or rod to move endwise, in either direC-' tion, in its bearings 25. This endwise movement of the shaft or rod 24 correspondingly varies the angle of inclination of the arms 19 and consequently the bottom wall 15 of the mold body 10 is raised or lowered as the case may be.

In the use of the mold apparatus so provided, a pad envelope or bag a to be filled with a suitable material such 'as cotton, isto be laid fiat upon the movable bottom Wall 15 with its mouth or open end directed toward the forward end wall of the mold body 10, which wall is horizontally slotted, as at 28, to receive therethrough the flattened discharge spout or nozzle 29 of a material feed conduit or pipe 30.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 6, when the discharge spout or nozzle 29 is inserted inwardly of the opening 28 in the forward end wall of the mold body 10, it is also inserted inwardly of the mouth of the pad envelope or bag a in order to discharge the materia-l directly into the latter. To prevent accidental disengagement of the pad envelope or bag from the spout or nozzle 29 and to otherwise facilitate the engagement of the latter therewith, during its insertion into the slotted opening 28, a portion of the fabric at the mouth or open end of the envelope or A bag a is first drawn outwardly of an upwardof the slotted opening 28 and is then engaged' between the outer side of the front end wall of the mold body 10, and a clamp bar 31, the latter bein hingedly attached, as at 31', to the top e ge of the body wall.

This clamp bar 31 is held against the engaged portion of the envelope or bag fabric v by means of a horizontal plunger 32 which is supported for sliding movement in the outer connected portion of a substantially U-shaped bracket or yoke 33, the latter being secured to the outer s1de. of the adjacent end wall of Leaders is preferably formed withan enlargement or head 32 to provide a linger piece to facilitate manipulation of the plunger to and from operative position.

Projecting laterally from the plunger 32 at an intermediate point thereon, is a latch pin or lug 35, whichis to be alined with a slot 36 opening upwardly through the topA edge of the connected portion of the bracket or yoke 33 during the operative movements of theplunger but it is to be moved out of registry therewith by a partial turning movement of the plunger 32 in order to lock thelatter in itsl outwardly disposed or inoperative position. Thus, when the plunger is forced outwardly against the tension of the spring 34 and the plunger is given a slight turn either to the right or left, the projection or pin will engage the outer side of the bracket or yoke, held inoperative and the enlarged end of the envelope or bag fabric may thereafter be freed from the clamp bar 31 ln order that the cover 11 may be rigidly supported inwardly of the upper side of the mold body 10, when in its closed or locked position, pairs of companion lugs 37 are secured to the underside of the closure wall 12 of the cover and to the inner sides of the front and rear end walls of the lmold body, so that the lugs carried by the cover will rest upon those carried by the mold body when the cover is closed. The opposed faces of these lugs 37 are preferably serrated in order to interlock one with the other when the cover 11 is closed. i

In the preferred installation of the pad forming apparatus as thus constructed and arranged, it is contemplated that .two of the mold units will be employed, and, to that end, parallel trackways 38 are provided, one to support each of the units in proper position relative tothe discharge spouts or nozzles 29 vand in order that' the latter will pass into the slots 28 in the forward end walls of the molds, when the latter 'are moved forwardly along the trackways for the purpose.

when the 4plunger will be V the discharge spouts or nozzles 29 and into the pad envelopes or bags a.

the filling operation, in order that the filling material will be packed by the air pressure progressively away from the closed ends of the pad envelopes or bags a, as the mold bodies or units 10 are moved rearwardly alon the trackwa s 38. Durin vthis rearwar movement o the mold bo les or units 10 the discharge spouts or nozzles 29 will be radually drawn out of the same and also from `the envelopes or bags la. As the material is fed from the dischargespouts or nozzles 29 the compressed air will act to cause the mold units to traverse the trackways in a rearward direction and will thereafter escape outwardly through the pad fabric 'and -through the perforations in the closed walls 12 yof the covers 11.

In the operation ofl the two unit systems thus provided, the two mold units are to be alternately operated, so that, by Providing a 'cuto or valve 41 at the point o of the two branch conduits or pipes 30 with a common feed pipe 30,'the material can be readily diverted from one conduit or vpipe'30` to the other at the, completion of each filling operation.

By adjusting the movable bottom wall 15, of each of the mold units, a selected thickness of pad can be formed at any given filling operation and each adjustment thereof will accurately determine the amount of the filling material to be used so that such amount will be uniform throughout any number of completed pads of the same rsize and thickness. This adjustment is to be readily accomplished by the manipulation of the hand wheel 27 in a proper direction of rotation, when the shaft or rod 24 will be moved endwise to cause the angle of inclination of the arms 19, on which each ofthe movable walls '15 is supported, to be varied to dispose the latter in properl spaced relation to the top wall 15, whic spaced relation will fix the thickness of the pad to be formed.

As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the blower 41 will be arranged to be driven from a suitable source of' power (not shown) and the filler material will be fed to the hopper 39 by means of a belt 42 leading from a usual form of willow picker or shredder (not shown) to which `the raw cotton or lother filler materiall is to be fed by hand directly from bales of the same. As soon as the filled pads are removed from the mold bodies 10, the open ends of the same are to be' closed and sewed.

As shown in Figure 9, the rearward movement of each ofthe mold units along the trackway 38 during the feeding of the filler material into the pad envelopes or bags 4a as before stated is effected primaril by the action of the air pressure discharge into the connection mold bodies with the 611er material, put this movement may be accelerated, if deslred, by

'ving thev trackways 38 a slight inclinationy in afforward direction, in order that theweight 'of the units will cause them to move rearwardly at an increased speed from momentum or by means of a counter-weight 43 suspended from a cable 44 which is passed over a pulley 45 mounted on each of the trackways 38 and attached, as at 46, to the under side ofthe supporting base 16 toward the forward end thereof.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that l lby having the discharge spouts or nozzles 80 29 project far into the mold bodies 10 and the bags or envelopes a at the start of the progressively packed into the envelope or bags under the action of the air pressure and in a manner that no cracks or crevices will be left in the completed filling; that, by havin the individual pads confined within yfilling operation, the filler material will be an adjustable mold during the fillingvoperation of pads of a 'ven size will, when completed, be of a uni orm weight; and that the contents of each pad will, by reason of the progressive feeding of the ,filler material thereto as' aforesaid, not require any beat'- ing or compressing either during the filling operations or thereafter.

Without further description, it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent tov those skilled in the art, and it willyof course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be Y resorted to, without departing from'the spirit of the invention or its scope as claimed.

I claim: 1. In a terial disc arge means, air pressure eans for feedin the material to said disc arge means, ,an movable means for supporting a pad envelope in position for the engagement of the open end thereof with said discharge means when said supporting means is moved toward the latter, said supporting means being adapted to-be moved away from saiddiseharge means underthe action of the air ressure and progressively throughout lthe ling operation. i

2. In a pad filling apparatus, a filler material feed conduit, a blower in said conduit vfor feeding the material to the discharge end thereof, and movable means for supporting a pad envelope in position for the engagement of the" open end lthereof over the said discharge end of said feed conduit when said supporting means is moved toward the latter,

said lsup'portin means being adapted to be mo'ved away rom said conduit under the action of the air pressure from said blower and progressively throughout the filling operation.

3. In a pad iillingapparatus, afller luapadl filling apparatus, a filler ma-4 los , its respectiv s Sure meBllS terial feed conduit, a plurality of discharge.

said feed conduit to' said discharge nozzles,

and movable means arranged to support pad envelopes -on-the same and in posltion for the engagement of the open ends thereof over the complemental of said discharge nozzleswhen the supporting means is moved toward the latter, said supporting means being adapted to be moved away from said discharge nozzles under the action of the air Iplressure and progressively throughout the llin operation.

4. du a pad filling apparatus, a filler material feed conduit, a plurality of discharge nozzles at one end of said conduit, air presfor feeding the material through said feed conduit to said discharge nozzles, and a movable means cooperative with each of said discharge nozzles and adapted to support a pad on each of the same and in position for the engagement of the open end thereof over a complemental of the discharge nozzles when the supporting means is moved toward the latter, each of said supporting means being adapted tc be moved away from action of the air pressure and progressively throu hout th'e filling operation.

A5. n a pad filling apparatus, a filler material feed conduit, a plurality of discharge nozzles at one end of said feed conduit, au' pressure means for feeding the material through said feed conduit to saidv discharge nozzlesa trackway leading to each of said discharge nozzles, and a movable means on eachof said trackways and adapted to supporta pad envelope on the same and in position for the engagement of the open end thereof over the complemental of said discharge nozzles when the supporting means is moved toward the latter, said supporting means being adapted to be moved away from said discharge nozzle under the action of the air pressure and progressively throughout the filling operation.,

6. In a pad filling apparatus, a filler material feed conduit, a plurality of discharge nozzles at one end of said feed conduit, air pressure means for feeding the material through said feed conduit to said discharge nozzles, a trackway leading to each of said discharge nozzles, a movable means on each of said trackways and adapted to support a pad envelope on the same and in position for the engagement of the open end thereof over the complemental of said discharge nozzles' when the supporting means is moved toward the latter, said supporting means being adapted to be moved away from said discharge nozzles under the action of the air pressure and progressively throughout the filling operation,

discharge nozzle under the .adapted and means for. controlling the dow of ller material to each of said discharge nozzles.

7. Ina pad filling apparatus, a ller material feed conduit, a p urality of discharge nozzles at one end of said feed conduit,V a1r j pressure means for vfeeding the material through said feed conduit to said discharge nozzles, a trackway leading' t-o each of said discharge nozzles, a movable meanson each of said trackways and adapted to support a pad envelope on the same and' in osition for the engagement of the o en 'end t ereof over the complemental when the supporting means is moved toward the latter, said vsupporting means being adapted to be moved away from said discharge nozzles under the action of the air pressure and progressively throughout the filling operation, means'for controlling the dow of filler material to each of said discharge nozzles, and means for accelerating the movement of said movable means away from the said discharge nozzle.

8. A pad forming mold comprising a base, a body open at its lower side supported above the base, a vertically movable bo'ttom wall within the lower open side of said body and to support a pad envelope on the same, and means for adjusting said bottom wall relative to the top wall of the body to vary the depth of the space between the same and to thereby determine the thickness of the completed pad said means comprising a plurality of arms pivoted to the base and engaging said bottom wall and a rod .having connection with the arms and movof said discharge nozzles top wall for. said body, a vertically movable l' bottom wall within the lower open side of saidk body and 4adapted to support a pad envelope on the same, and means for adjusting said bottom wall relatively to the top wall of the body to vary the depth of the4 space between the same and thereby determine the thickness of the completed pad said means comprising a plurality of arms pivoted to the base and engaging said bottom `wall and a rod having connection with the arms and movable to vary the angular rela'- tion of the arms with respect to the base.

10. A pad forming mold comprising a base, a rectangular mold body open at its upper and lower sides supported above the base and having a slotted opening in one of the end walls thereof, a cover for the upper open side of said body, means for securing said cover in fixed closed position, a vertically movable bottom wall within the lower open side of said bod and adapted to support a pad envelope t ereon with the mouth of the latter directed toward the said slotted opening, and means for adjusting saidbottom wall relatively to the top wall of the` body to vary the depth of the space between the same and to thereby determlne the thickness of the completed pad comprising a plurality of arms pivoted to the base and engaging said bottom lwall and a rod having congiection with the arms and movable to vary tnehangular relation of the arms with respect to the base. p

11. A pad forming mold comprising a -base a rectangular mold body open at its upper and lower sides supported above the base and having a hrizontalslotted opening in one of the end walls thereof, a support for said body and spaced below the same, a

v hinged cover forthe upper o en side of said body, means for locking sai cover in closed ,positiom a vertically movable bottom wall, within the lower open side of said body and adapted to support a pad envelope thereon with the mouth of the latter directed toward the said slotted opening, and means mounted on said base for adjusting said bottom wall means for locking said cover in closed position, a vertically movable bottom Wall within the lower open side of said body and adapted to support a pad envelope on the same. with the mouth 'of the latter directed toward the said slotted opening for subsequent engagement over the inserted end of the said discharge nozzle, clamping means carried by said body for securing the mouth end of the pad envelo e inits engaged position over the said ischarge nozzle, and means mounted on said`base for adjusting said bottom wall relative to the top wall of the body to vary'the depth of the space between the same and to thereby determine the thickness of the completed pad` THOMAS L. `MCJOYNT- relatively to the top wall of the body to vary p the depth of the space between the same and -to thereby determine the thickness of the completed pad comprising a plurality of arms pivoted to the base and engaging said bottom wall and a rod having connection with the arms and movable to vary the anguar relation of the arms 4with respect to the ase.

v 12. A pad forming mld comprising a base, a rectangular mold body open at its upper and lower sides supported above the base and having a horizontal slotted opening in one of the end walls thereof, a support for said body j and spaced below thev same, a hinged foraminated cover for the upper open side of said body, means for locking said cover in blosed position, ,.-aivertically movable bottom wall within the lower open Side of said lody and adapted to support a pad envelope thereon with the mouth of the latt'er directed toward the said slotted opening, and means mounted on said base for adjusting said bottom wall relatively to the top wall of the body to' vary the depth of the space between the same and to thereby determine the thickness of the completed pad comprising a plurality ofarms pivoted to the base and engaging, said bottom wall and a rod having connection with the arms and movable to vary the langular relation of the arms with respect to the base.

13. A pad forming mold 'comprising a rectangular mold body open at its upper and lower sides and having'a horizontal slotted opening in one of the end walls thereof, said slotted opening -being adapted to have' a filler material discharge nozzle inserted inwardly thereof,.a support for said body and spaced below the same, a hin ed foraminated cover for the upper open side of said body, 

